STRAP commends the PAP

On 27 October 2011, the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) released a statement affirming the inherent dignity of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Filipinos. The statement is considered historic and groundbreaking. STRAP sent a letter of commendation addressed to the PAP leadership which is posted in full below.

Dr Maria Caridad H. Tarroja PhD
President
Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP)

CC: Prof Jay A. Yacat
Head, PAP Public Interest Committee

Dear Dr Tarroja

We, the members of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), the pioneer support group and human rights advocacy organization of transpinays ( transgender/transsexual Filipinas), commend the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) for its October 2011 statement on Non-discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and congratulate the PAP for taking a clear and unequivocal stand against any form of prejudice directed toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Filipinos.

We share the PAP’s view that indeed “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Filipinos continue to experience stigma, prejudice and discrimination in Philippine society.” This stigma, unfortunately, is perpetuated by individuals and institutions connected to the field of psychology and psychiatry whose precepts have been used to “cure” and change people’s sexual orientation and gender identity through harmful and unethical reparative therapies.

We hope that the PAP’s statement will just be one of the many steps it will take to bring the practice of psychology out of the darkness that views a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity as a condition that needs to be treated, cured or suppressed into the light of affirming the agency of every human person and their capacity to self-determine their gender and sexuality. We hope as well that the PAP’s statement will reflect a psychological practice in the Philippines that strikes a balance between science and humanity, a psychology that adds to and does not take away from every Filipinos’ right to lead meaningful, happy and fulfilling lives free from the stigma of psychopathology.

We salute the leadership of today’s PAP. We hope that your wisdom and courage will mold a generation of psychologists who are more humane, more caring and more nurturing of the Filipino mind, body and spirit! Mabuhay kayo at mabuhay ang PAP!

In solidarity,

Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP)
www.tsphilippines.com
www.facebook.com/strap.manila
strapmanila@gmail.com


Written for STRAP by Chairwoman Ms Naomi Fontanos

STRAP's Declaration in Support of the STP 2012 Campaign

On 13 November 2010, Saturday, the members of STRAP, in support of the Stop Trans Pathologization 2012 campaign, sat down with members of the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) to have a discussion on the issues that trans Filipinos face and the call to delist Gender Identity Disorder (GID) from the DSM IV and transsexualism from the ICD 10 (see pic above). Below is STRAP's statement written by Co-founder Ms Sass Rogando Sasot and edited by Chairwoman Ms Naomi Fontanos declaring full support for STP 2012.


STRAP’s Declaration in Support of the Stop Trans Pathologization 2012 Campaign

Recognizing that transsexualism is classified as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM IV) of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) of the World Health Organization (WHO);

Considering that gender is a binary classification system imposed on human beings since their birth;

Bearing in mind that the gender identities and expressions that strictly fit into the traditional norms of being either male or female are the only socially allowed gender identities and expressions;

Highlighting that this gender binary classification system has led to the discrimination, violence, and marginalization against human beings who do not conform to its standards;

Upholding the definition of gender identity in the Yogyakarta Principles, as each person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth, including the personal sense of the body (which may involve, if freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance or function by medical, surgical or other means) and other expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms”;

Affirming the Yogyakarta Principles on the application of international human rights law in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity, especially Principle 1 – The Right to the Universal Enjoyment of Human Rights, which calls on states to “undertake programmes of education and awareness to promote and enhance the full enjoyment of all human rights by all persons, irrespective of sexual orientation and gender identity”; and Principle 2 – The Rights to Equality and Non Discrimination, which calls on States to “take all appropriate action, including programmes of education and training, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudicial or discriminatory attitudes or behaviours which are related to the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of any sexual orientation or gender identity or gender expression”;

Endorsing the 26th of May 2010 statement of the Board of Directors of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) that calls for the de-psychopathologisation of gender variance worldwide and which affirms that “the expression of gender characteristics, including identities, that are not stereotypically associated with one's assigned sex at birth is a common and culturally-diverse human phenomenon which should not be judged as inherently pathological or negative”;

Recalling the societal vision of our organization of a nurturing society that affirms, respects, and upholds the dignity, the right to self-determination and good quality of life of all;

The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), in adopting this declaration, hereby:

Rejects the pathologization of gender identities and expressions and supports the call to Stop Trans Pathologization by the year 2012

Affirms that the development of gender identity and expression is part of the right to the free development of personality;

Affirms that gender identity and expression is a matter of self-determination and as sacred as the right to life itself;

Affirms that the role of the psychiatric and medical communities over the lives of transgender people is not to pathologize and stigmatize them but to provide patient-centred care that upholds that highest possible standards of health; and

Calls for rights-based legislation in the Philippines that would protect transgender people from discrimination and allow them to change their legal sex into their gender identity.